A New Horror
by xXDemonic AngelXx
Summary: Tsuzuki's been captured by Muraki, a plan up the doctor's sleeve that's going to involve Tsuzuki and the death of everyone he loves.
1. Chapter 1

---X---Chapter 1

Tsuzuki smiled as he walked outside in the frosty air, his breath showing as a white fog in front of his face. He couldn't help but grin as he saw the little children running outside door to door, saying "Trick-or-Treat!" to the families inside.

"Isn't it fun to watch?" he asked his partner Hisoka, who was standing next to him, the warmth of his body warming Tsuzuki's arm.

The young boy shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I remember when I did it. I thought it was almost as awesome as Christmas."

Tsuzuki nodded simply. His memory as a child—or what he had of it—wasn't a happy one. His grin started to fade as he remembered what Muraki had told him, and the memory's of what actually happened. Finally his smiled faded completely into a frown, the blonde haired youth noticing. "Tsuzuki, what's wrong?"

The now dim violet eyes turned from the electric green ones, debating on whether or not he should say. _He's shared so much of himself though, as silent as he is, so it's only fair..._ he thought, letting out a breath. "I remember Halloween. I remember always hiding, because the kids would come and beat on me, saying 'Tonight's your night, freak! Why don't you get out there with everyone else? You'd only have to go as yourself, monster!' Then they'd hurt me, and leave me out in the cold, where no one would be able to find me sometimes. I always wondered though, what it'd be like to be with everyone else, not worry about someone commenting on my eyes and getting second thoughts..."

Hisoka reached to put a comforting hand on his friends shoulder, but stopped, Tsuzuki noticing, remembering that Hisoka could read emotions, and see memories if they were strong enough. Instead he spread his arms out, giving the darker haired one a giant, meaningful hug. Tsuzuki was surprised, saying "Hisoka!" when he heard the smaller one's breath draw in sharply. "Let, let go. It'll be for the better. I don't want you sad on a holiday you enjoy."

He felt Hisoka's muscles tighten, his breathing quicker. "Hisoka, let go!" he repeated, not caring if anyone could see the two as he grabbed the boy's arms, trying to pull them off of him.

"Your pain...your grief," Hisoka replied, teeth gritted, tears starting to fall on Tsuzuki's shirt, the breeze making the spots cold. "It's so much. How could you deal with it? So often?"

"Hisoka, let go of me now! Besides, I...I got used to it. I learned of places to hide, or different routes on my way home to avoid getting jumped. It was life."

Hisoka finally managed to pull himself away, tears still creeping out of his eyes. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't ever have been through that."

Tsuzuki looked away, staring at the children coming down the house's front steps, dressed as witches, goblins, aliens and more, others heading up. "It's the past. One I barely remember. I just think what I remember are the highlights of the worst parts. No big deal."

He stood up, realizing he had earlier crouched down, and helped Hisoka up, who was quickly wiping his tears away. They turned around, about to go meet Tatsumi at the café nearby. Both were at least happy they had convinced the secretary to get out and about, especially on such a "different" night.

Then, screams. Thuds hitting the ground. Splats. Tsuzuki and Hisoka turned around, paralyzed on sight. Blood everywhere. Screams of panic were layering the air, soon cutting off as their bodies hit the ground. Tsuzuki started running forward, mass confusion and worry on his mind, a constant thought of _Oh god, someone has to be alive._ As he searched though, he found everyone dead, with throats slit. Blood started creating puddles on the ground, soaking through the candy that was spread everywhere. The children were collapsed in piles, parents nearby.

Tears welled up in Tsuzuki's eyes, his steps becoming clumsier as he saw the entire neighborhood had been slaughtered, one lone man standing in the center of the road, holding a small child who was screaming and crying. Tsuzuki almost tripped, Muraki smiling. The silver hair fluttered across his face, the glasses slightly falling down his nose, dressed in the same white outfit, Tsuzuki slightly wondering how he stayed warm. The doctor held his arm up, holding the small boy around the age of eight or nine by the neck, the mask falling off and revealing frightened brown eyes. His slightly long brown hair kept falling in his eyes as he struggled to get away, little legs kicking, arms grabbing at the hand.

"Ah, Tsuzuki, why doesn't this surprise me that you're here?"

"Muraki! Did you do all of this?" The doctor nodded, Tsuzuki's mind cracking in despair and disbelief. "Why? Let the poor boy go..." he whispered almost, Hisoka straining his own self back.

"Oh Tsuzuki. I want to see you break, every part you, and I want your memories to haunt you forever, since you can't die. Take off your watch, and just look at what _you_ did. And, as for the boy, well, you'll see if you don't come with me now."

"Careful Tsuzuki," Hisoka murmured beside him, the green eyes full of anger.

"Don't worry," he softly replied. "What do you want?" he asked louder, anger and caution in his words.

"To see you fall. It is my pleasure in breaking someone, and you've been in my sights for a long time, Tsuzuki. Come here now, please."

Tsuzuki paused, his mind not knowing how to work anymore. Muraki's hand tightened on the boy's neck, the boy yelling for help even louder. Tears were coming down somewhat more, the kid scared out of his mind. "Do you really want to see me hurt this young boy?" Muraki asked, placing a hand in his coat pocket and pulling out a knife. At the sight of this, the boy's movements became more frantic, his voice higher, the tears faster. Muraki took the knife and put it in front of the kid's right knee, then jammed it through when Tsuzuki didn't move.

The kid cried out in agony, Muraki removing the blade slowly, and doing the second knee, the boy crying out even louder if possible. Tsuzuki's mind started cracking even more, each scream like a dagger to his head. Hisoka noticed from beside him, unknowing of what to do exactly.

"Stop it!" Tsuzuki cried, unable to move towards the boy. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to come here. How many times must I repeat myself?" He put the knife in the crook of the boy's arm and quickly pierced it through, the elbow dropping, the boy squirming away becoming once more desperate. Muraki did the other arm, having it fall to his side completely.

"Now," he said, threatening to push the knife into the boy's stomach, "if you don't come here, you are going to see this boy die in front of you. It'll be your own fault, because you could have prevented it. You could have come here, and cooperate, and have this boy...well...not dead. But you're going to see him die a long, painful death, and his voice will echo inside your head forever, if you want to think of it like that."

Tsuzuki felt like he was going to throw up, his mind emptying as he saw the knife slowly start to enter the boy's stomach. Tsuzuki finally yelled "Stop!" and ran over to the boy, who was now sobbing deliriously, blood running down his arms and legs. Tsuzuki caught him as Muraki let go, the boy becoming lighter and lighter, disappearing, as well as everything around them.

"What is this?" Hisoka asked, running over to the two.

"This, as in Tsuzuki, is mine. This, as in everything else, was an illusion. I saw what you felt about this situation, and let it grow, spread into a beautiful neighborhood. Now, go tell Tatsumi what happened," Muraki said, starting to laugh as he grabbed Tsuzuki's limp wrist and disappeared.

-----------X----------

I hope u enjoy this. It's a little Halloween tribute-idea-thing, and it makes me happy. lol, i swear i'm not trying to be full of myself. If u like: SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If u dont: I hope u do find one u like. So...if u like, please review!!!!!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

---X---Chapter 2

Hisoka did just as Muraki said. He ran as fast as he could to the café, his mind in confusion, worry, and anger. _How dare he toy with Tsuzuki's thoughts and feelings,_ he thought as he jumped over a bush, recognizing the area. Luckily the area where Muraki made his illusion—_how had he gained that type of power? He's just a crazed doctor...right?—_was in an empty patch of land next to one of the neighborhoods.

Within a few minutes, and panting very hard, he raced into the café, people staring at him as he saw Tatsumi, who looked up. The man put his paper down and got off his chair. Hisoka rushed up to him, trying to control his breathing enough to speak. Tatsumi looked at the smaller boy, as well as everyone else.

"Hisoka, what is it?"

"Outside...tell you," he managed to gasp out, sweat slowly rolling down his forehead.

Tatsumi helped him outside, everyone still watching, the air feeling good on him. Hisoka took off his jacket, the air going through his long sleeve shirt, cooling him fast. He went and sat on a bench, his legs feeling weak, his ass starting to feel cold as Tatsumi sat next to him. His breathing became more normal, but he felt extremely lightheaded, the corners of his vision starting to turn black.

"Hisoka, what happened? Where's Tsuzuki?"

"That's the problem," Hisoka stated, his entire body starting to feel light instead of heavy. _Note to self, never **ever** run that fast again. Ever. _"Muraki came and met us, placing this illusion trick on us, but how he pulled it off is beyond me. The problem beside's Tsuzuki being taken is that Muraki cracked his mind by using a kid, who was fake, and took him off to wherever. What's going to happen now I'm unsure of."

The coolness finally got to the youth, who put his jacket back on, soon it warming up to a comfortable temperature.

"And...Shit, he didn't say anything else?" Tatsumi asked, looking ahead, already thinking.

"Well that, and he wanted to break Tsuzuki, and he was going to have a fun time doing it."

Tatsumi nodded, his frown deepening. "That makes sense. That's Muraki for you. But what has Tsuzuki ever done to deserve this?"

Hisoka knew the question was rhetorical, but he said anyway "Nothing. Even when he was alive he was abused for his eyes. Nothing at all should be done to him. He's the gentlest thing I know of."

The secretary nodded, sighing. "Well, shall we go back into the café, somewhere else, or back home?"

"We can go to another coffee shop and think. We'll figure something out soon."

-----------------------------------

Tsuzuki felt cold, inside and out. He felt violated, abused, out of control. And all that had happened was Muraki showing him how he done the illusion. Or, what he gained from it. He had made a pact with some dark spirit, giving him a small bit of power to help him capture the Shinigami. And all Muraki had to do was to generate a body for the spirit to return in. And he had found the perfect host—Tsuzuki.

When Tsuzuki found he had been "chosen" for the specific reason, he had tried every possible thing he knew of to get out, but his powers were cut off in this place.

Muraki kicked his foot, Tsuzuki raising his head off of his chest, his thoughts disappearing. "Aw, don't look so sad, my precious. You'll still be alive after the demon takes your body, just not in control...or even conscious. So you won't know what's happening."

"Why?" was all he could ask.

"Because, I need to repay the spirit. The time has come to pay my debts, and I don't want to get in trouble. But, time to break your spirit, so the darkness can fill in the cracks already there."

Muraki grabbed the sitting man, forcing him to stand, then dragged him to a room. Tsuzuki gasped as the doctor turned on the light. How he was going to be broken would go deeper then the doctor thought.

---------------------------------

Hisoka was growing desperate. At the other café they had gone too, neither had thought of something to do, let alone where Tsuzuki actually was. In the past there had always been at least one clue to go on, but if you just disappeared, that didn't leave very many options. Tatsumi sighed and set his drink in front of him, saying after a moment, "Maybe Watari can help us."

Hisoka shook his head. "I don't want to get him involved, even though we're supposed to all stick together and in groups." Tatsumi nodded. "Well, the main question is, what can Muraki torture/break Tsuzuki with? Kids and animals, or basically any killing and death. Correct?" The other man nodded, his sapphire eyes growing curious. "So, the next question is: Anything like that gone missing? Cuz it'll have to be real, since Muraki loves blood, and it'll only hurt Tsuzuki more."

"Yes, and I've come to the same conclusion. But the night is deceased. Nothing is open to tell us what's happened. And we also don't know where he is, remember? Also consider if Muraki bought the animals—if he uses those."

"Dammit, so many things!" Hisoka growled, fists clenched on the table. "I can't stand to see Tsuzuki in pain. He's like a little child with how his mind works and how everything affects it. Muraki's going to use pain and enjoy it! That's just how he is."

Tatsumi sighed and nodded, looking tired. "I know. And, I'm going have to say it. There's nothing we can do until tomorrow. After a nights rest, we'll be able to think clearer, and move faster."

Hisoka noticed how Tatsumi didn't say "good nights rest." He couldn't control his anger though. Resisting the urge to stand up and yell at the man in front of him, along with having people stare at him, he kept his voice low and rough, saying "I'm not. I'm going to look around; find answers. You go and sleep. I'm not tired, and I'm not going to sleep until I find _something._"

Tatsumi nodded simply, standing up, surprising his friend. "Maybe for a little while Hisoka. Let's go."

Hisoka smiled, getting up and throwing his empty cup away. The two looked around for an hour in the area where Tsuzuki had been taken, but found nothing. "There has to be _something_," Hisoka pressed, looking at the ground once more.

"Hisoka, come on. Let's go. There's nothing here," Tatsumi said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"No. I'm not leaving yet. I know there's a clue somewhere around here, and I'm going to find it!"

"I'm sorry Hisoka."

Hisoka turned around, confused, as something entwined around his body. It was tight, dark, cutting off all his senses, his lungs soon burning for air, him thinking _What the hell is Tatsumi doing? Is he trying to kill me?_ His brain felt light, his entire body soon following suit as he fell onto his side. His brain was forced to shut down by his friend he had once trusted.


	3. Chapter 3

---X---Chapter 3

Hisoka woke up, his brain slow to move. When it started functioning, with the memory from the night before rolling through his head, he quickly sat up and throwing the sheets off of him. He went and grabbed his clothes off of the seat next to him, his anger rising at Tatsumi. He was going to find Tsuzuki whether Tatsumi was with him or not. Who cares if he would violate the most important rule: Always travel with a group or at least one other Shinigami. He put his jacket on, tied his shoes and was about to exit when the door opened, Tatsumi walking in. His outfit looked like it was just pressed, causing Hisoka's anger to rise again slightly. "Hisoka, good, you're up and dressed. Ready to go?"

Hisoka stared at him before shouting, "What the hell is your problem? Of course I want to go! But I wanted to stay out last night too, but you made your shadows suffocate me! Why?"

"Because," Tatsumi said calmly, closing his eyes for a second, either to calm himself from shouting, or to forgive himself; the latter confusing Hisoka. "Because if you stayed out there any longer, you probably would have collapsed from exhaustion, and that would not have been a good thing. I know there would be no convincing you, so I skipped that part and went to forcing, and for that I am sorry. It was the gentlest way I knew of."

"Suffocating is gentle? I'm going to ignore that thought, and go. You can follow if you want," Hisoka said, walking past the Shadow Master, his own emotions covering up the slight sadness from the other man.

Hisoka walked from the building, his feet guiding him, as he finally pushed the door heading outside, the crisp sharp air making his mouth and nose chill as he inhaled. He knew Tatsumi was following him, but he didn't care. It was his own fault Tsuzuki got captured. It was so obvious what was going to happen. It could have been prevented. But, the illusion had been so convincing, and who would've expected Muraki to able to pull of such a thing? He had to have help. Muraki had killed so many people in the past though, so it wouldn't have been surprising if the entire neighborhood was real, just sick and cruel.

Hisoka turned down a street, close to the coffee shop they were at the night before, and within a couple of minutes, they were once more upon the field, Hisoka instantly looking at the frost covered ground, trying to find any clues. He walked around and around, his anger growing, especially when he saw Tatsumi standing nearby, looking like he was just watching Hisoka make a fool out of himself.

After an hour and a half later had passed, Hisoka's anger reached its peak, causing him to turn around to Tatsumi and yelling, "Okay, you've made your goddamn point! So I haven't found anything. You were right, I was wrong. Now quit watching me!"

Tatsumi's face took a look of sadness to it, Hisoka wondering if he had been too harsh. But, he had always hated being proven wrong. Now that he thought about it, he had been acting childish, and Tatsumi had good intentions. The thought of Tsuzuki though being tortured by Muraki took over his mind, causing him to act out rather than think. He sighed, calming his mind and said, "I'm sorry Tatsumi-san. I shouldn't have yelled at you at all today, or last night. It's just that I can't stand to think about what Muraki is doing to Tsuzuki right now. Do you have any ideas?"

Tatsumi looked at him, sapphire eyes to the electric green, a slight smile on his face. "It's all right. We're all worried. I told Watari last night—but not all that happened. I asked if any strange disappearances have happened lately, and he told me some children and animals have gone missing, but there were no patterns, and it was only a small amount."

Hisoka nodded, his mind dead now. "So, we still have no lead to where Tsuzuki is."

"Well, we could always try Muraki's friend..."

Hisoka nodded, catching the new plan.

----------------------------------------

"No, no more," Tsuzuki cried, his mind in a state of shock as well as torture. The room Muraki had taken him too had been full of everything it seemed. Numerous torturing devices, children, and animals—mainly dogs and cats. Tsuzuki had been forced to kill every one of them, and if not, one of the torturing devices would be used on him. Muraki had forced him to drink a green potion that stopped his abilities for one day, so if Muraki chose to slice him with a knife, he couldn't heal.

Muraki had kidnapped six girls and four boys, five cats, five dogs, and two rabbits. Tsuzuki dropped the crimson knife onto the ground next to him, the dog lying in front of him, blood all over everything, mainly him. He sat on his knees, his arms wrapped around him, using the pain in his back to drag him away from reality.

"You did well, Asato. And now, I want something more." Muraki got down behind Tsuzuki, pressing himself hard against Tsuzuki's back, against the numerous burns and countless cuts. Tsuzuki held in a cry of pain, biting his lips, forcing them to bleed once more from having bit them whenever he got punished. "You have no idea how long I've wanted you Asato. How close we've gotten in the past, it was breathtaking. It was so, oh so hard to resist. But now you're mine, before the ritual. In 12 hours, you wont' remember who you are, so I've got to have the _real_ you."

Muraki's breath whispered across the other mans ear and down his neck like silvery ghost fingers, Muraki's erection become quite obvious by now. Muraki slid his hands down Tsuzuki's waist, undoing the belt slowly, his hands smoothly removing the pants and underwear, before feeling the area, the fingers groping playfully. Tsuzuki's mind shattered into even more tiny pieces, as tears started rolling down his face. Muraki's hands moved up and undid his tattered shirt, parts of it sticking to his skin from where it was burned. It was pulled away, not forcefully, but not gently either, and thrown in a non-bloodied corner.

Muraki quickly took off his own clothes, pushing Tsuzuki onto the ground and eyed his prey. "You're gonna cooperate. If you don't, you're going to be in more pain than you can ever imagine. I can make this painful or pleasurable for you, but only if you oblige."

Tsuzuki nodded stiffly, the smell of blood around him starting to make him sick. Muraki lied down on top of Tsuzuki, starting to kiss his throat, working his way around and biting his neck hard enough to cause pain. Tsuzuki stiffened, as Muraki moved his mouth to lick the tears off of his face, kissing each eye. Finally he reached the mouth, biting the smaller man's lips hard, causing them to start bleeding again. Tsuzuki opened his mouth slowly, Muraki kissing him passively, his tongue lapping over his mouth, his lower area pressing harder against Tsuzuki's, causing him to shiver. Muraki slowly brought his mouth away, his eyes holding a wild lust in them.

"Turn over," he breathed, Tsuzuki's arm getting cut with a blade nearby when he didn't move fast enough. "If you don't move faster, you're going to get salt in your wounds again."

That was enough inducement for him. Tsuzuki rolled over, Muraki entering Tsuzuki, pain spreading throughout him. Muraki kissed the back of his neck and shoulders, biting at the base of his neck, causing Tsuzuki to cry in pain, his eyes shut tightly. A sob escaped him as he felt the other man's ejection come. But it didn't stop. Muraki continued moving his hips, kissing the burns on his back, blistering pain roaring through with a simple touch.

Finally, Muraki said, "You're too boring, Asato. You must almost be completely broken. But just to make sure..."

Muraki exited Tsuzuki; once more the silver haired mans eyes looking knowledgeable and devious. He grabbed Tsuzuki by the neck, and threw him over by the now demented bodies of the girls, a splash announcing Tsuzuki's crash into the bloodied ground. He quickly sat up, coughing and spitting blood out of his mouth, close to throwing up, especially when he saw what _he_ did to the girls, the bodies of the boys next to them. He was being lifted again, and was thrown into the tools, all of them falling off the shelves onto and around him, some stabbing his back from where he had landed on them.

Tears were once more coming out of the amethyst eyes, the silver misty ones smiling down on him. Tsuzuki knew his mind was going to break in any second. It was hopeless. "Tsuzuki, do you know you are mine now?"

He did. He knew the answer was yes, and his response was a cry in pain as his mind finally shattered into a million pieces. Tsuzuki was unable to tell what was happening to his body as his mind fled to try to find a safe, deep corner to be able to hide and never come out again.


	4. Chapter 4

---X---Chapter 4

Hisoka and Tatsumi came up to the all too familiar building that had been an important part of their past. They walked around to the back, seeing Muraki's only friend Oriya. He turned around, his long brown hair flying up as he heard their footsteps. He brought his katana down as he saw who it was, a small knowledgeable grin on his face. "I haven't seen you two for awhile. How are you?"

"Cut the crap Oriya. We know you know where Muraki is," Hisoka growled.

A look of surprise and hurt crossed his face. "What? I don't know what you're talking about. Muraki hasn't contacted me at all lately."

"Let me handle this," Tatsumi said quietly, taking a step closer. "Oriya, once more Muraki has captured Tsuzuki, and once more, we would like to know where he is. If you don't tell us, we're going to have to force the answer."

Oriya smiled, his dark eyes glowing. "You're not much different than last time, and I'm glad you still love your friend very much. But, you're too late. The reason why he was captured is going to take place tonight at the central church. If you go, you better take caution, otherwise you'll get killed. It's at midnight; you should show up at 12:01. It'll be for your safety."

With that he turned and left, sheathing his sword. He headed back toward the building, not looking back over his shoulder.

Slightly confused, Tatsumi and Hisoka turned around and departed, thinking. "I wonder why it's at midnight tonight," Tatsumi wondered aloud.

"I think it's because tonight the spirits leave from this world and go back to their own, and pass through the church, including demons."

Tatsumi looked at the teen, curiosity on his own face. "And you know this how?"

Hisoka gave a small smile. "I had to do a history project on it, for extra credit in eighth grade. It was pretty cool and I actually learned a lot."

"And that information is going to come in handy. Come on, let's go set up a plan for the church."

--------------------------------

Tsuzuki was forced to put on a white robe, his hands moving automatically, as if the wind was helping move them. He saw the day continue on, the sun set, and once more the darkness came. Muraki himself put on white robes, Tsuzuki following him to his car, and drove to another building, the lost violet eyes barely taking in the church. He followed Muraki in when told, and watched the doctor set things up, who checked his watch often, more and more as time wore on.

He set up a table with a white cloth, a bowl of water, red candles, and a book on top. He made a special bench for Tsuzuki to lie on once it was time. Finally, the doctor lit the candles, telling Tsuzuki to lie on the bench. "It's time now, my minion, soon my master."


	5. Chapter 5

---X---Chapter 5

"It's midnight, let's go," Hisoka said, walking up to the doors, pushing them open. What he saw wasn't what he expected though. Tsuzuki was lying on a bench, a white cloth on his waist down to his knees, the rest of him naked. Muraki was in a white robe, his presence seeming to dominate the room. "No!" Hisoka screamed as he saw Muraki lift a red candle, aiming to drip wax on the unconscious man.

The doctor looked up, smiling, hands tipping the wax, five dots dripping onto Tsuzuki's chest. "Glad you could watch," the doctor said, as Hisoka ran into a barrier, knocking him onto his back. His body hurt while his vision returned to normal. Tatsumi helped him up, before feeling the barrier. Hisoka felt it too, feeling an invisible stone wall.

"What're you going to do?" Tatsumi asked, Hisoka glaring at the silver haired man.

"Watch and see," came the simple reply.

-------------------------

Muraki turned back to Tsuzuki, the wax dry. He took out a knife, and slit both his and Tsuzuki's left arm, using the blood to form a star on Tsuzuki's chest. He glanced at his watch and saw 12:02, making him nervous. All spirits and demons had to be back in Hell by 12:06, and if they weren't...it was not a good thing, to be put very simply. Probably eternal damnation and torturing, he guessed. Something you didn't want to have as a punishment.

He took his knife and cut a small star on Tsuzuki's forehead, and grabbed the bowl of Holy Water, taking a small handful and dripping it on the bleeding star, the cut soon turning black. _It's working,_ he thought, smiling.

He took the holy water and slowly spread it over the man in front of him, the friends standing and watching reluctantly. He dripped the wax on Tsuzuki's heart, muttering under his breath. To complete things, he drew a circle and an X, mixing his blood with Tsuzuki's, quickly glancing at his watch. 12:05. He better hurry... "Demon, take this body which I have provided, as I am just a humble minion at your service."

Flames erupted around Tsuzuki, his body floating upwards, as a black streak pierced him. Muraki knew it went through the heart. The flames grew larger, changing from red and orange to a dark purple, blue and black, the tips a scarlet color. Finally they settled, Tsuzuki's body landing on the bench, his body in a black shadow, soon returning to a normal shade of his skin coloring.

--------------------------

Hisoka screamed at Muraki, calling Tsuzuki's name as the flames settled. Tatsumi stood next to him, wishing this couldn't be happening. It was going to be the end of the world, he knew, to have a demon with such a great power possess Tsuzuki. "Hisoka," he said, grabbing the boy's shoulder, "I think it's time to go, and I'm not kidding. You at least have to get away. I can hold him off."

Hisoka stared at him with a confused but a determined face. "Tatsumi, what are you saying?"

"Come on, we got to go, _now_!" he ordered while backing up, forcing the boy to move with him.

"Tatsumi, we gotta save Tsuzuki!"

"Not today, trust me. And we're not going to save him if we're both dead. Come on."

"But..."

"No, trust me, we can die from this demon. Differently than you think. So move now." They were almost to the door. _If the demon doesn't open his eyes and see me, I'll be fine for the most part,_ he thought almost desperately.

Hisoka didn't reply as he was pushed out the door, Tatsumi looking at Tsuzuki, who was standing up slowly, getting used to moving. He was almost out the door, he would make it... Something grabbed his wrist, pulling him back inside, Tatsumi shouting "Run! Go get Watari and anyone else! Hurry!"

He turned back, facing brilliantly bright blood red eyes, a malevolent smile covering Tsuzuki's once gentle face. "Tatsumi-san, what have we here?" the demon hissed, but smiling. "It's been so long since I've seen you last. Have your powers gotten any stronger?"

Tatsumi forced himself to stay calm. It'd be his only chance at staying alive. "It has been a long while, Rauksauta. And my powers have grown considerably stronger."

He had the shadows try to get the demon off of him, but his attempts barely did anything. "Ah, as you can probably tell, I also have grown stronger, and this body is of excellent choice. His mind was weak, making it even easier to possess his strength. But, after all those years, do you find it fitting to die on a first encounter?"

Tatsumi's anger grew, and he used the connection between him and Rauksauta to grab at the demon's body heat, storing it in the shadows around him. "What're you doing?" the demon asked in surprise, finding it hard to let go of Tatsumi since a shadow had wrapped around the arm, keeping the connection.

"I've learned a couple of tricks too Rauksauta, that you're not going to like."

The shadows grew hotter, as a pain went through his own arm. Whether it was from drawing this much heat, or something else that the demon was doing to him, he couldn't tell. He felt his mind start hurting, his vision starting to grow dark. He finally released the control of the heat, and sent the shadows to cover all of Rauksauta who screamed aloud. Tatsumi fell onto the ground, the screams letting up as he fell unconscious, the shadows slowly drifting away around him.


	6. Chapter 6

---X---Chapter 6

Hisoka was breathless as he reached the area to Meifu. He opened the door and ran inside, heading towards the labs. He found them, and saw that for once the scientist wasn't in there. He went to Watari's room, knocking impatiently on the door. After a minute, the door opened, revealing a blonde haired man, who was rubbing his eyes and yawning. As he put on his glasses, and saw the expression on his friend's face, he pulled Hisoka inside, asking "What happened? Why are you here?"

Hisoka tried to get air into his burning lungs, unsuccessful at first. "It's Tsuzuki!" he gasped. "Muraki turned him into a demon, or something, one that Tatsumi knows a lot about. He told me to come get you."

Watari nodded. "Did the demon see you at all?"

Hisoka shook his head. "No. Tatsumi was mostly outside when the demon pulled him back inside."

"Where was all of this at?"

"At the central church."

The blonde nodded again, thinking. "Let's go to the church when it's light out. I'm afraid of meeting the demon in the dark. As soon as the sun comes up, even a touch, we'll go to the church. I highly doubt Tatsumi-san is going to die, so don't worry, especially if he sounds like he knows a lot about this demon. Go get some sleep. You'll need it."

Hisoka nodded, but knew none would come. He went into Watari's bedroom, sitting in a chair and leaning back, angling himself just right for him to stay balanced and be able to cross his legs. He stared out the window, the full moon looking back at him. It was hard to tell whether the moon was laughing at him or not. Soon tears were rolling down his cheeks, as he thought about Tatsumi and Tsuzuki.

---------------------------

"Did I do well?" Muraki asked the demon, who now stood in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Tatsumi lying off near the door, unconscious or maybe even dead.

"You did do very well. This body has much storage for power, and I enjoy that. He has great power levels that I can feed from. Have you known of this body for long?"

"Yes, and I had actually planned on using his body for something else."

The blood red eyes looked him over carefully before saying, "So you do not plan on having me around forever? I could tell you that much."

Muraki sighed and nodded. "I plan on ruining mankind, and then going from there. But, the Shinigamis are strong and smart, so keep that in mind. There's a blonde haired boy, Hisoka, who I would rather enjoy using too, now that I think of it."

The demon nodded, grinning. "So, shall we go feast tonight, or wait until tomorrow?"

Muraki smiled, saying "Wait until tomorrow. That way we will have the entire night to go hunting. And after that, you can tell me what you want me to do."

The demon smiled, a bloodlust filling his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

---X---Chapter 7

At the crack of dawn, Watari came in, Hisoka looking towards the door. He knew he looked tired. His mind had shut down partially during the night to regain some energy, but it hadn't been very helpful. "Hisoka? You alright?" the worried scientist asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all," he replied. He sat the chair down completely and stood up, stretching and waking his legs up. He passed Watari's mirror, taking a second to look at his reflection. In general, he looked worn out. His hair wasn't that messy, but it wasn't that neat either; his eyes had large circles under them, his face looked pale, and his clothes were slightly wrinkled. He could feel his hands slightly shaking from the little amount of food he had eaten from the day before. His stomach didn't growl though. Instead, he felt like he was going to throw up.

"Let's go," Hisoka finally said, letting out a deep breath.

He and Watari went to the church, Hisoka growing more and more nervous, finally breaking out into a cold sweat as they reached their destination. He watched Watari open the doors and slide inside, Hisoka right behind him. He spotted Tatsumi lying on the ground on his side, unmoving, positioned away from them.

Hisoka ran over to him, grabbing his shoulders and looking at the pale face and limp body. Watari came over and felt for a pulse, finally finding one and giving a relieved smile. "He's alive. But we better get him back to Meifu, so we can see how hurt he is."

The bigger man grabbed Tatsumi, carrying him bridal style. They walked out the back way of the church, and concealed themselves, jumping up and flying up towards Meifu. They landed, and walked into Ju-Oh-Cho, heading towards the hospital section. Watari finally set Tatsumi on a bed, Hisoka starting to calm down. The scientist covered the secretary up, and took out his arms, looking at them. "See some nail marks...the edges of the cuts black...little amount of blood for such deep cuts. Interesting." Silence, as Watari continued looking Tatsumi over. Finally, "I don't see anything else. I think if he sleeps in a proper bed, and was looked over, he'll be okay. Go to sleep now, Hisoka. He'll be fine."

The teen gave a small thankful smile and left the room, heading towards his own room, where he fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

----------------------

Tatsumi woke up, his body hurting, especially his brain and arm. He opened his eyes, the golden sunlight coming in through a window. He blinked a couple of times, soon realizing the sun was going down. How long had he been out? A day? Or more? He didn't want to remember too much. His head was hurting with thinking. After what he did to get the demon off of him, his body needed to recover, and it'd take probably most of the day. Like Tsuzuki and Hisoka, he could heal physically pretty fast, but his powers needed a day to fully recover if he used them to the max.

He heard the door open, seeing Watari coming in, a grin soon appearing on the man's face. "Tatsumi-san! You're awake! You've been out for most of the day, and Hisoka's been pretty worried, when he was awake. How're you feeling?"

"Sore. And Hisoka's been worried? Why?"

Watari shrugged, then said, "I think he blames himself for Tsuzuki's capturing, and how he couldn't help you fight the demon. And it's normal if you're feeling sore. You'll be fine within a day or so." Tatsumi nodded. "And is this where the demon's nails cut into you?"

He turned Tatsumi's left arm over, revealing four small cuts near his wrist. "Yeah, but it's because I held his arm there. Why?"

"See how the edges are black? I'm worried about that. He could've given you something that's dangerous, and we don't know what it is yet. I'm going to take some samples, if it's okay with you." Tatsumi nodded, and the blonde went over to some drawers, pulling a couple items out. He came back holding a sharp knife and a small dish with a lid. "Okay, so this might hurt a little, since I'm going to cut the edging of your skin off, to get the best samples."

Tatsumi watched the scientist as he sliced away the blackness, not even feeling anything. When all the black skin was gone from the four little cuts, his arm healed completely, a slight green tinge around where the slits had been.

"Okay, I'll go to the lab and analyze these. I'll send Hisoka in."

Tatsumi shook his head as one blonde left the room, the other entering. He looked embarrassed, nervous, and upset. "Tatsumi," he said, coming closer to the bed. "Are you okay?"

The older man nodded, the soft blue meeting green. "I'm okay. Just tired, so don't worry anymore."

"What're we going to do about Tsuzuki though? Or more so, with the demon that's possessing him?"

"We...are screwed, if we don't think of a plan. And a good one at that. Remember what we did with the last demon that possessed Tsuzuki?" Hisoka nodded. "Well, we should try that again, except, we've got to be stronger. This is a tough demon, and I'm hoping that he's going to be at least somewhat the same as last time I defeated him."

"How'd you defeat him?"

Tatsumi knew the obvious question was to come, but he didn't know how to answer. "It was a long time ago, right after I became a Shinigami, and my powers were weak. The body that the demon possessed was also weak, so that helped me a little. But I didn't defeat him completely. More like put a collar on him that banned his exit out of Hell when I sent him back. And I was the only one that could take it off. So how he managed to get through is boggling my mind."

"Do you think any help from other demons could have gotten him out?"

Tatsumi thought for a bit, finally saying, "I want to believe it's impossible. I could probably think of a way for it to be possible, but...I don't want to believe it."

Hisoka nodded, thinking of a new question. "Why do you think he's here?"

"That, I couldn't tell you. Maybe it's for revenge, maybe it's for the pure pleasure of being able to kill again. I honestly don't know. But, as soon as it's dark, the killings will start, and then the horror begins."

Hisoka was silent, finally asking, "Is Tsuzuki going to be alive by the end of this?"

"I'm hoping. Last time, I had to kill the guy's mind for me to capture the demon. I'm hoping I don't have to do the same for Tsuzuki."

Hisoka nodded once more, turning towards the window, seeing the last rays of light disappear, Tatsumi knowing Rauksauta would go out in any moment.

-----------------------------

A girl around the age of 19/20 was walking along the lake, watching the stars glimmer off the surface. _Kindrou's going to be here soon. Oh how I can't wait,_ she thought, her heart fluttering faster, feeling light and giddy. She sat on the edge of the lake, watching the small wakes lap at the surface. She started tossing rocks into the water, when she heard the leaves rustle behind her. Eagerness flowing through her, she turned around, asking "Kindrou? You're late."

What she saw though wasn't Kindrou. Light reflecting off the figure, she saw a tall man, his eyes blood red, a malicious smile on his face. His looming figure caused her breath to pause, her brain to freeze. "What have we here?" he asked, his voice deep and commanding.

She pushed herself further away, scooting into the water, not caring if her purple skirt and black top got soaked and started freezing her skin, her heavy coat starting to weigh her down. She stood up, not eager to drown, the figure still coming towards her. She knew she was becoming hysterical, but she couldn't help it. Maybe it was the eyes, maybe it was how it walked, but whatever it was, she wanted to get away.

She was now almost mid-thigh deep, and then couldn't move anymore. She looked down, her mouth opening in a silent scream. She saw that the lake was coated over in a thick layer of ice. As the demon stepped on the ice, she could hear the ice hissing from heat, each step making the water hotter. As the creature came up to her, she was screaming aloud, the water literally burning her legs, the pain only becoming worse and worse. "Oh my little princess, don't cry. You're imagining it worse than it really is. Let me help take your mind off of it."

He entered a hand into his coat pocket, pulling out a knife, the hilt embroidered with a golden wolf on it. She screamed again, sobbing hysterically, her legs burning and unable to move. "Get away!! Help, somebody _help!!_" she screamed at the top of her lungs, desperate for _anyone_ to hear her.

The creature in front of her laughed, saying "Honey, no one's going to be around anytime soon. Your screams will fade soon. They're a lot quieter than you think they are. Look above you."

Reluctantly, she looked up, seeing the moon and stars a hazy red. "A shield?" she whispered, knowing she had officially lost her mind.

"Exactly. So no one can hear you, and your body's not going to get discovered for some time. Smooth move, planning a date out here buttercup."

He laughed again as more tears and screams broke out, his hand grabbing her right wrist tightly as he cut off her jacket and the long black sleeve shirt. He threw the excess clothes to the side, leaving her in her bra to deal with the cold. He took his knife and placed it sideways at the very top of her shoulder, and slowly cut his way down, a layer of flesh coming off and revealing the muscle and tissue underneath.

He continued slicing down, while the girl was feeling like she was about to pass out from the pain all over, her vision already growing dark. "Oh no you don't, my delightful toy." He took his hand and squeezed her mouth open, as he placed his own over hers, blowing in. The air felt sweet yet sour, cold yet boiling hot. Her mind seemed to wake up and become three times as alert, the pain redoubling up. "I can't have you passing out on me yet. You'll die when I tell you to."

And it continued on. The pain never let up as he sliced her skin off all over her top half, invasion raging through her as he cut the skin off of her breasts, and when he decided to finger her. He had pleasure in his eyes as he grinned at her, asking if she's ever had sex. When she didn't answer, he said "I'll take that as a no," and continued to cut the remaining flesh off, laughing once it was done.

She wanted to die, the pain wanting to kill her, the demon's spell-magic-_thing_ keeping her awake and observant. She was sure the skin on her legs was thoroughly burned off and the heat was attacking her muscles. Her mouth seemed to be stuck in a silent "O" with her voice gone into the invisible wind.

"Would you like to see what your lovely self looks like now?" the creature asked, smiling once more, the blood covering him making him look all the more demonic. "You once looked so pretty sweetheart, and now, you don't."

A mirror appeared in front of her, showing her entire body including her legs. Her voice slightly came back, and more tears poured out of her eyes, burning every part of her they touched. The demon wiped his knife off on her clothes and stood up.

"Now, you are going to die a slow painful death, because I feel like it. Have fun."

He snapped his fingers, and the red shield came down, a wave of cold air making her breath pause. "You'll probably die in the next five to ten minutes, and your body's not going to like this massive change..."

She felt it. Her legs were burning, burning like fire was licking them, tasting them for its next meal, when the water turned icy, the cold grabbing and absorbing into her muscle and bones throughout her, making her brain pause, as a new wave of torture went through her.

He turned around and calmly walked off the ice, leaving her alone, the darkness pressing around her tightly, the cold blanket convincing her she was truly dieing, and it would never be figured out how she died. She could say it was the coldest, longest last time of her life, as she slowly dripped into the darkness, the blackness capturing all of her. Her entire body went limp, the pool staining the ice permanently red.


	8. Chapter 8

---X---Chapter 8

"A female body has been found at Tatsha Lake early this morning, police baffled by what has happened. The lake was completely frozen over, three inches thick. The reports are to gruesome to report, but the basics are her legs appeared to have severely burned, the top half of her body appearing to have all the skin off of it gone. Sketches show this person to be female, between the ages of eighteen to twenty-one, brown hair and brown eyes, 5'3''. If you have any information, please call the toll free number at the bottom of your screen."

A sketch appeared on the screen, the girl having long dark hair, large round eyes, high cheekbones, and a slim mouth. The TV turned off, Watari walking back over to the table next to Hisoka, who had his head buried in his arms.

"I know it was the demon," Watari said, placing a cup of coffee in front of the teen. "I guess now we know how dangerous he is."

"Dangerous? What are you talking about? He's a sick bastard! And he's not going to stop. He's going to continue killing until we take action. And he's content with waiting! And Tsuzuki could—"

"Don't finish your thought," Watari said, sighing. _Even though we both did, _he added to himself, looking at his glass of tea. He stirred it around, thinking. They needed to get this demon, but they didn't know anything about it, besides what Tatsumi had told them. And even then, it wasn't a lot. Just enough to get started, and even then, they didn't know how to save Tsuzuki.

"God dammit," Hisoka muttered. "I've got another headache. I'm going for a walk. Maybe that'll help."

Watari watched Hisoka get up and exit the room, close to slamming the door behind him. The scientist knew the boy was suffering from constant headaches, from simple ones to waking up in the middle of the night close to screaming in agony. Watari had given him some medicine, but he highly doubted it was helping since the boy still seemed to be easily angered and would snap at anything.

Watari stood up, heading out of the room, sipping his tea as he walked down the hall to his lab. He sat down at his computer and saw the Tengu twins across the room. He was about to ask them why they weren't in the library, but instead asked, "Hey, can one of you follow Hisoka? Just to make sure nothing happens, of course."

They both nodded, one flying out the door, the one in red staying behind. "What're you looking at today?" the bird asked, flying over to him.

"Hisoka keeps saying he's having really bad headaches, and I can tell the medicine I gave him isn't working. I simply want to know why."

"Do you think it could be his powers?"

Watari looked up. "What? Growing? I don't know, maybe."

The bird nodded. "Think about it. His powers could be growing, and his ability to feel people's feelings and see their memories could become stronger...and maybe that could help us save Tsuzuki."

"That makes sense. I mean, he would have to grow stronger eventually, and I think in this predicament, his powers are on haywire, so they decided to grow..."

"And when they're done," he continued, "he's going to be exhausted and want to sleep."

Watari nodded, turning back to his computer and thinking.

------------------------

Hisoka sat on the stone wall, holding his head. The pain was throbbing, steadying off. He knew he wasn't going to be sick this time, but it'd be close. He slowly opened his eyes, the low height making him dizzy and almost fall off. He jumped down and stumbled, groaning as his vision darkened and his headache started to become more intense. "God dammit," he muttered, standing up completely after a couple of seconds. He slowly started walking down the sidewalk, ignoring the looks people gave him. Usually, 16 year olds like him supposed to be in school; not walking around in the middle of the day, and in the fall where there's nothing to do.

He randomly ventured around, thinking of ways he could try to save Tsuzuki, since this was similar to the last demon that had possessed him. All of his conclusions came to the same answer, but it would be a matter of how to get to the demon.

_Maybe if I touch it, I can read it, and see how to free Tsuzuki...Yes, that'll work just fine if I don't get myself killed. I can imagine it now. "Hey, Mr. Demon, mind if I grab your arm for a second? Don't be surprised if I collapse or anything"...Oh God, who am I kidding?_

He brought himself out of his thoughts, seeing more people walking around. He looked at his watch and saw it was after three, so everyone was mostly out of school and work. He cut into an alley and walked down it. He jumped a fence at the end, crossed a road, and walked down a little ways, remembering about the place he had seen in the news report. He had been their once before, and how he even remembered about it was surprising.

He went towards the lake after he exited the ring of trees around the lake, invisible. He looked around, seeing crime scene tape all around the area, chunks of the still frozen-over lake, and no investigators. He walked over past the tape, and became visible again. Either everyone had gone on a break, or left for the time being. The mysteriousness and confusion of the missing people kept Hisoka looking around.

Soon, he had found some ice that was soaked red, and he knew that it was from the girl. He decided nothing was going to be useful in the tiny supply tents, so he went onto the lake, the ice sturdy under his feet

He walked up to the large part of the lake where the ice chunks had mainly come from, and collapsed onto his knees, the remaining power and emotions overpowering his senses. He saw visually, physically, and emotionally what had happened to the girl in the lake. He saw the demon standing next to him in the vision/memory, who was smiling.

He saw the girl, crying and screaming, her legs being burned, her top half missing most of its skin. He was filled with her emotions, her grief, causing his brain to stop working. He couldn't swallow, couldn't breathe. His entire body felt like it was being pushed through a tiny tube.

The demon laughed, slowly slicing the skin away. He moved his mouth, but Hisoka didn't want to hear the words. Maybe he was afraid it'd be Tsuzuki's voice, or maybe he was afraid of what the demon would say.

Whatever it said though, got washed away as the surroundings became normal, the ice seeming eerily bright in the sun. He knew he was going to pass out, for once not from his headache, which had mostly gone away to his amazement.

"Hisoka!" something cried, fluttering against him as he collapsed onto the ice, feeling feverish. "Hisoka, come on, get up, please! You can't stay here for much longer! _He's _going to come."

Hisoka attempted to focus enough to stop his vision from darkening even more. "What...what happened? Who's going to come?"

"_Him,"_ the feathery friend pressed, attempting to pull Hisoka off of the ground. "Even though he doesn't come out until dark, he'll sometime attack people at dusk or even _earlier. _Come on, we need to _go, now."_

Hisoka slowly processed the information and looked at his watch, which read 4:30._ Another hour or so until dark, damn. _"Okay, okay," he muttered, slowly getting up.

Hisoka managed to get off the ice without slipping, feeling slightly better once he was on real ground. The two started heading towards the trees that surrounded the lake, Hisoka's hair standing up as he got closer to the trees. He felt desire, hunger and darkness. It made him want to laugh, yet cringe on the inside for how evil it felt. "No," he muttered, more to his mind and mixed feelings than to really anything else.

"What is it?" the blue Goushoshin asked, fluttering around Hisoka's head once more.

Hisoka fell onto his knees, holding his stomach, trying not to throw up all over the ground in front of him. He felt the pleasure of the hunt, the desire to see blood, yet there was reluctance to the light... It mixed with his own thoughts of wanting to block it, to get it away, but it left him weak and confused. "Don't go...into there," he managed to get out, feeling like now his head was being split in two.

"Hisoka!" The rest of the words, if there were any, were stopped by the figure standing in front of them, the pure blood red eyes staring down at them.

"So, are you one of Tsuzuki's friends?" the demon asked slowly, his voice deep and commanding, coming out smooth. "Hisoka, your friend misses you," the demon said, using Tsuzuki's voice this time.

"Let him go!" Hisoka gasped out, mind on fire, his entire body numb. _If I wanted to go through with my plan, I better do it now!_

With that, he quickly jumped forward, latching onto the demons ankle. Pain, suffering, and torture entered his mind and his body, making him scream aloud, unable to deal with it. It was far more than he had thought, but he found the main feeling—the link—to the demons mind and took it, searching out Tsuzuki. He figured his gentle friend would be hiding far away, so he quickly sought out the place, before the demon realized what he was doing.

He was getting close; he could feel a force. Then, he ran into a glass barrier, knocking him down as Tsuzuki became clear on the other side. "Tsuzuki!" he yelled, hitting on the glass hard. The man was lying on his side, his eyes shut, his body barely moving. "Tsuzuki! Wake up. It's me, Hisoka!"

He continued the pounding, getting no response. "You sneaky little bastard," someone said from behind him, Hisoka's breath catching. He turned his head, seeing the true form of the demon. He was tall, had long black hair nearly to his waist, the blood red eyes, long fangs, whiter than snow skin, broad shoulders and strong muscles, and long, black clawed nails. He was wearing a black leather trench coat, chains across the chest with the bottom of the coat in shreds, almost. His black leather pants and boots were poking out, completing his darkness. "But, he won't wake up. Do whatever you want, and it's not going to work."

Hisoka couldn't move as the demon stretched an arm towards him. He couldn't tell if he was yelling or not, dreaming or not, but as soon as the hand was about to touch him, he felt a pull and opened his eyes, seeing a...roof?

He looked around and saw he was in a bed, brick/wood walls around him and the twins next to him. He quickly sat up, Watari putting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back down. "Are you feeling okay, Hisoka?" the other blonde asked.

"What happened? We were at the lake, and the demon showed up, and I found Tsuzuki, and he was going to touch me..."

"Slow down Hisoka. You're going to be fine. Tatsumi found you and took you from the demon. He's investigating right now where all the missing investigators are. And what do you mean by you 'found Tsuzuki,' and 'he was going to touch me?'"

Hisoka turned red, and then said, "Umm, I went into the demon's mind, and I found Tsuzuki. I think he was unconscious and there was a glass barrier between him and me. And then the demon turned up and he was reaching his hand out to me, when I woke up."

Watari nodded slowly, thinking. "Ookaay then. For going out alone, never _EVER_ go by yourself again, got it? Even if one of the twins are following you. You're lucky Tatsumi went and got you away from the demon."

Hisoka nodded depressively, saying after a minute, "How long was I out?"

Watari looked at his watch, then at the sun. "Probably a half hour or so. The sun was starting to set when Tatsumi brought you in here."

Hisoka nodded once, then thinking, _If I have to go in and save Tsuzuki, that's going to be hard, on account of I'm going to need a lot of time. But I know where he is now, so that helps a lot._


	9. Chapter 9

---X---Chapter 9

Tatsumi ventured around the crime scene, not finding anything. He looked at the setting sun, knowing he had only a matter of time before darkness came, bringing Rauksauta with it. He had managed to get Hisoka away from the demon, but it hadn't been easy. He had to get the boy to unlatch his hand from the ankle, without the demon touching either of them. He had attempted to use the shadows, but the shadows faded away, worrying him.

Why his shadows had faded away confused him, just as much as why everyone who was working on the girl's murder case had basically disappeared with no clues left behind. Rauksauta had probably done something to them, but if he managed to do something to them all at once, then his powers had grown much stronger than Tatsumi had expected. _Hopefully my powers have grown just as much, to at least be able to overpower Rauksauta's, even if for a short time._

The sun sent its last rays through the trees, Tatsumi cursing silently and running through the trees, using his shadow's as a barrier. As he got closer towards the end of the trees, he felt the shadows disappearing, fading away again, and knew if he didn't get towards a public street soon, he was a goner. He could hear Rauksauta saying "Tatsumi-san, come back again, your friend misses you..."

The trees crashed behind him, Tatsumi's breaths starting to come out in gasps. He attempted to put the shadows back up around him, but failed. _What's wrong? _he thought, trying once more to bring the shadows, only ending up with a pounding headache.

He stumbled out of the trees, sprinting down the sidewalks in the direction of Meifu. If his shadows had disappeared, he doubted he could fly or turn invisible. He knew Meifu was his only haven, and it was too far away! Sweat started dripping down his face, blurring his vision slightly, his lungs feeling like they were getting crushed by a wrench. His legs felt like they were being pulled off by the ground, each step becoming clumsier as he rushed out onto one of the most public streets of Kyoto. He slowed down; finally collapsing against a wall, uncaring about the looks people threw at him. That just meant that if someone saw him get taken by the demon, it'd be noticed.

After some minutes later and his head feeling light, the rest of him heavy as if gravity was having a stronger effect on him than normal he looked around, making sure the demon wasn't around. He jogged down the street, not getting close to any side streets and alleys. Eventually he reached the street that would take him to Meifu, and sprinted down it, hearing Rauksauta's breathing as if he was next to him. He reached the portal, and for a second everything seemed to slow down, the speed up to normal as he crossed. He stumbled and hit the ground hard, ripping his pants and jacket, his hands scraped.

He breathed a sigh of relief, catching his breath, and slowly got up and walked towards the building that was now in front of him. As he entered, he heard footsteps, Watari soon seeming to tackle him in a great hug. "Oh good, you're okay! The demon didn't get you." He released Tatsumi and stepped back, looking him over. "You look alright. Did you fall entering Meifu? I guess apparently you're not supposed to run..."

"What are you talking about?" Tatsumi asked, his mind not together at all.

"Never mind. But the demon didn't touch you, right? Because if he did again, then we got to get you taken care of."

Watari started probing him, removing the clothes while Tatsumi smacked him away, telling him he was okay and the demon didn't get close enough 'touch him again.' "Trust me, okay? If Rauksauta managed to grab me, I'd probably get killed. So, I don't plan on that."

Watari nodded, holding the jacket as Tatsumi put the other half of his shirt back on, then the jacket. "And how did you know the demon was chasing me?"

"Hisoka said so. He said he could feel the power of it, the need, and it made him sick. He didn't look that well either. I think the headaches aren't helping."

"Is he awake now?"

"No, he fell asleep as soon as you passed through. He said, 'Oh good, he's back,' and fell asleep...or more like passed out."

Tatsumi nodded, heading towards the stairs to his room. "Okay, thanks Watari. I'm going to head up to my room. If Hisoka wakes up, or if something comes up where you need me, let me know."

Watari nodded, and left to go to his lab as Hisoka lay unconscious and Tatsumi went to go relax and take a warm bath.

-------------------------

"How many tonight?" the voice asked, the light reflecting off the silver hair.

"Enough. The need for blood is growing stronger. I thank you for giving me such a fine body. And I met a small boy earlier, in his teens. Blonde and bright green eyes. He found his friend by entering my mind, and it almost killed him. Ring a bell?"

Muraki nodded, smiling. "I know who you're talking about. Don't kill him. He's special."

The demon smiled, turning around and heading out, going out into the night to go wreak havoc near and far.


	10. Chapter 10

---X---Chapter 10

Murders and mysterious disappearances were littering all the papers over the next couple of days, making people worried. Watari set the latest paper down, sighing, wishing he could figure out a way to save Tsuzuki. He went through every type of notes he'd ever made, every document on the computers, and every sort of topic on possession of the mind and/or body, and every sort of mental control. He found nothing for what was going on for Tsuzuki exactly, but if he had the time, he could probably put a lot of the information together and work it out. Who knew what Tsuzuki was experiencing, and how long until the demon was actually seen and put on alert. After that, many more people would die, and the entire country of Japan would be in hiatus, since the attacks are spread all over in large groups, varying from 3 to 11 people per night.

Watari stood up, heading back to his lab, convinced there was something he could do to slow the demon down.

--------------------

Hisoka lay on his bed, for once his head not hurting, but he knew the headaches would start again soon. Watari had said that the headaches had come from his powers growing, and the major part was over, so they'd only come as a build up of power that needed to be released. The only reason his powers stayed at a constant level before was because of him being out in the cities with Tsuzuki and everyone else, so his emotions and feelings were always reaching out, despite his attempts to block it.

God how he wanted Tsuzuki back. He missed the amethyst eyed softie more than he could stand. There had to be some way to bring him back. He had managed to see Tsuzuki, but it was that barrier that was blocking his path, blocking any feeling of life from the other man. But how to break a barrier that strong, especially without getting himself killed by the demon? This would be a very strong team effort, with everyone using their strengths to bring the demon down.

Yes, that would be it. Him, Watari, Tatsumi, and maybe the Goushoshin twins could all take the demon down. Hisoka got up, determined to tell his plan to Tatsumi and Watari, hoping they'd agree and help him out.

-------------------------

Tatsumi sat at his table, his head in his hands, his long forgotten and cold coffee sitting in front of him. He felt like he had a massive headache, with a very strong head cold. He noticed his powers had finally disappeared completely the day before, and was planning on Watari sometime soon. Maybe the scientist could tell him what was wrong, since he had loved to discover new things. In fact, the scientist still hadn't told him the results of the black pieces of skin.

He looked up as someone knocked on the door, coming in after he said "Enter." He saw it was Hisoka, and was curious as to why the young blonde would come to see him. Usually Hisoka was outside, or in the human world alone, sometimes one of the twins following him. "Yes, Hisoka?"

The teen sat down in a chair opposite of him, clasping his hands together and staring at them. He finally sighed, and asked "Will you help me fight the demon to get Tsuzuki back?"

Tatsumi stared at him, thinking the obvious answer of "Duh," but instead said, "Yes, of course I'll help you. There's only one problem. Something has happened to my powers that have caused them to disappear."

"What?"

"I'm not sure. They've been fading over the past couple of days and they finally disappeared last night. I was going to see Watari about it a little later today."

Hisoka nodded, and the two sat in silence until Hisoka asked, "Tatsumi-san, what do we need to do to defeat Rauksauta and release Tsuzuki?"

Tatsumi looked at the teen, whose head was hanging down so his blonde hair hid his green eyes and expression. "To be honest, I'm not sure myself. Weakening him is obviously the starting point, but I'm not quite sure how to do it without killing Tsuzuki also."

Hisoka brought his head up, looking intent. "I have an idea, but why I want you to help me is so _I_ don't get killed in the process. I know where Tsuzuki is in Rauksauta's mind, but I have to break down the barrier that was in between me and Tsuzuki, and get him to hear me."

"And you need as many people as you can to help distract the demon long enough so he doesn't attack you. Do need us to have him not attack you mentally or physically?"

"Technically both, but more towards mentally."

Tatsumi nodded, noticing his coffee finally. "Do you know exactly what you need to do?"

"For the most part, yes. I just need to figure out how to break the barrier."

Tatsumi thought for a second, then said, "Your powers have been growing, yes?" Hisoka nodded. "Use them, then. Tsuzuki told me that when you two were just beginning as partners, you had gotten angry at him and seemed to burn him. I guess that's how Tsuzuki put it. Use that against the barrier. If anything, it should at least weaken it."

"What if it's a type of spell barrier?" Hisoka asked, remembering what he had done to his partner, glad they had stuck together in the end.

"It'll still work, and I'd say even better than against just a regular barrier. I could be wrong, so you may want to check with the Gushoshin's, but it sound's like it should work."

Hisoka nodded, saying "Thank you, Tatsumi-san. You helped me come up with a lot of things I can work with."

"No problem," Tatsumi said to the leaving boy, smiling.

-------------------

Tsuzuki lied on the ground, cold, feeling like he was in the bottom of a frozen river, the cold flowing over him. He couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't even hear the sounds around him. When he was conscious. Most of the time he was unconscious, his muscles stiff from the no movement. He wanted to know what was going on, what the demon was using his body for. Killing no doubt, but if for anything else.

He had to move, had to get himself warmed up, but every time he attempted to move, visions of horror crossed his mind, pulling him into it, like now.

He was back in the room with the kids, one girl lying in front of him. "Here's how you torture them," Muraki demonstrated, gesturing towards the set of knives next to him, along with many other items. "Raping them is a good starting or ending thing. If you begin with it, then go straight into torturing during and after. If you end with it, then make sure they get as bloody as possible. I'll show you."

Muraki had chosen a girl. He beat her, cut the majority of her skin off it seemed, before finally forcing himself into her. The nine year old screamed out in horror, Tsuzuki trying the block it out, especially when Muraki finally killed her, saying, "Your turn, Asato."

He took a whip and struck Tsuzuki until he moved and grabbed the next crying and struggling girl, forcing her onto the table. He felt a pinprick of pain in his back, growing larger and deeper as Muraki whispered "Hit her to shut her up." When Tsuzuki didn't respond, the knife was forced deeper into his back, until he hit the girl. "Now you know what's next," the sadistic doctor continued, smiling.

Tsuzuki started to take his pants off, tears dripping down his face...

_NO! _he thought gruffly, pulling himself out of that memory. _No, I have to block them, have to move... _As soon as he moved though, another memory came, once more him as a child, only he was laying on top of a hill, watching the clouds roll by lazily, feeling like they had all the time in the world. He felt safe, since he would for once be able to spend some time alone without worrying about anyone bothering him. He dozed off, the breeze blowing the smell of trees, grass, and flowers around him.

He heard footsteps, and quickly woke up, alert now, looking around for the intruder. He found it, and saw it was a girl, who lived the next street down. Her name was Rylia, and she had long brown hair, wide, round brown eyes, long legs, and a gentle look to her. "Hey Asato," she said, coming closer. "Mind if I sit with you?"

He nodded, confused. She tucked her skirt under her, the brown fabric matching her light pink top. "Why are you talking to me?" he asked out loud, instantly adding, "Not to be rude or anything. It's just that, no one ever talks to me..."

"And that's why. I like your purple eyes. Makes me wonder if there's anything special behind them." She looked at him, smiling, not looking shy at all.

"Everyone hates them though. I just thought it was normal, since I grew up with them...but I guess I thought wrong."

"Don't worry about everyone else. They're all scared of you. They think you can put curses on them. Can you?"

"What? No! And why are they scared of me? I'm more scared of them, since there's only one of me and lots of them."

Rylia nodded, looking back out at the waving grass. "It's so beautiful."

"I know. It's usually one of the places I can hide where no one can find me. But I'll have to cross it off my list now."

"Why? Just because I found it?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. How many other places do you have?"

Tsuzuki shrugged. "Not sure. Five, maybe. I always find new places when I'm running." He looked at Rylia, who was smiling. He didn't like it. "What?" He asked defensively, standing up and looking around. "You bitch. Traitor," he said, frantic now. He couldn't find anyone else though.

"I'm sorry Asato, as much as I do like your eyes." She stood up, as something sharp and hard hit the back of his head, knocking him onto his knees, blood starting to come out of the cut. "Get him!" voices shouted, forcing him to stumble onto his feet and start running.

He started to run down the hill, rocks hitting him but most missing. He stumbled and fell, rolling down the hill and hitting excess rocks. He stopped, groaning as the voices followed him, soon wrapping around him as he was hit, kicked, and stoned. His voice cried out for all of it to stop.

The beatings went on, the laughing voices a blanket wrapped tightly around him. He fell into unconsciousness, the kids unknowing while continuing to kick and punch.

A small sob escaped Tsuzuki, the most movement he had done while he was trapped. How he just wanted to die, for all of this to end and leave him alone.


	11. Chapter 11

---X---Chapter 11

Watari, Tatsumi, Hisoka and the Goushoshins sat around the table, figuring out the plans to take care of the demon. "So, Watari, the twins and I are going to weaken the demon," Tatsumi said, the red Goushoshin cutting him off.

"What can we do to fight?" he asked, his twin nodding.

"Right now, just stick with research, and spread the word about the demon. That way, the other Shinigami's will know what's going on."

The two nodded. "And what can I do?" Watari asked, looking sad. "I'm only a scientist! I don't have any 'powers' like all of you."

Tatsumi nodded, holding up a finger. "Yes, but you're a _scientist._ You invent things. Invent a burning liquid that can blind him, or something like that. We need all the help we can get."

Everyone nodded, seeing his point. "When are we going to go after him?" Hisoka asked, looking back and forth between Watari and Tatsumi.

"As soon as Watari invents enough bombs or whatever to keep us well off. Is that okay, Watari?" The blonde nodded. "Do you have anything in mind that you want to start?"

The blonde put a finger to his lips, his golden eyes looking at the ceiling. "Well, I have some ideas...Yes! Perfect!" With that, he jumped out of his chair, sprinting down the hall, yelling out random elements and how much of each.

"Scientists..." Tatsumi muttered, shaking his head. "Okay then, since Watari has seemed to have gotten the point across his mind, any questions?"

Nobody had any so the remaining three that were sitting stood up, the birds heading to the library to do more research, Hisoka and Tatsumi heading to their rooms. Tatsumi figured it'd be at least a day before everything was ready. He was nervous now though, with the taking of action.

He could remember very well last time that his emotions were running wild almost. Because of that, it had almost cost him dearly. So he had taken the man's life, not even thinking about whether the man himself could have been saved. Luckily simple things like sorting papers could keep his mind off of the tragedies of his past.

--------------

Hisoka paced his room, figuring out how to use his powers. He probably could break down the barrier, and it would be easier if it was a spell. He stopped pacing and put on his jacket and shoes, heading outside to practice his powers, so he wouldn't fail and mess everything up. Outside, the tree branches waved in the wind, the Sakura blossoms sometimes fluttering off. He walked over by the pond they had, and stared at his reflection. He didn't know how to use the powers. He knew they were there, but how to open the door?

He sighed, and tried to remember what he felt towards Tsuzuki when they first met. There was anger, annoyance, and the tied down feeling that he hated. But he didn't feel that anymore. What about Muraki? That hit a button. His emotions flared, heading out of control, so he relaxed, opened that door, and let the energy flow through him.

He opened his eyes, and saw the ground scorched five feet out ahead and around him. He got down, touching the ground, recoiling his hand from the heat, the tips of his fingers burned. He stood up, jumped over the black cement, staring at what he had done. If this didn't disappear, he was going to have a hard time explaining this to Tatsumi and the Chief. But he could use his powers to destroy the barrier, and any kind it seemed, now.

------------------

Watari didn't notice the sun set, as he rushed around his lab, creating four different things at once. Ever since Tatsumi had told him about the burning skin, he had remembered about some chemicals that were very dangerous when put together. Right now, he might as well have made four liquid bombs. One would melt the skin, or anything it touched, one would just plain explode on contact—similar to a grenade, only it spread fire. The third would cause the area it touched to freeze, and the fourth was just some random experiment that would cause pain. Watari had found the mixture, but the name of it had been ripped off, along with some of the chemicals. So, how it was going to turn out would be a mystery, if it didn't blow up in his face first.

He searched around for containers to store the liquids in, finally finding four that would be able to hold the concoctions. The first one that would melt skin off was going into a maroon/black container, the fire-grenade one was going into an orange/red one, the freezing one would go into a light blue container, and the mystery one would go into a green/purple container. Happy, he looked once more at the deathly liquids, hoping they wouldn't explode and kill him.

He grabbed the glass bottles by the top carefully, gloves well protecting his hands. He slowly poured them into their containers, all bubbling menacingly. He felt like a mad scientist; all he needed was the crazy laughter and the thunder and lightening. He put the lids on finally, grinning, then exited his lab after making sure nothing was going to go boom. He ran up to Tatsumi's room, knocking on the door, still unknowing of what time of night it was.

After a couple of long, pounding minutes, Tatsumi finally opened the door, yawning and placing on his glasses. His dark hair was ruffled, and his face looked grim at the sight of Watari. His tan, toned chest made Watari roll his eyes since his friend seemed to lazy to put on the shirt he was holding. He had dark blue pants covering his long legs, random yellow lines covering them. "Watari! Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked, hiding a yawn behind his hand.

"You look like Tsuzuki right now. Just a heads up." He got a glare in return. "But, even though, I have no idea what time it is—"

"—2:06—"

"—I have finished four different chemical mixtures, very powerful and I guess you can say they're in a large dose. I can easily make more if you want."

Tatsumi looked awake now, and put on his shirt as he said, "Watari, you're brilliant. Come show me these."

Watari led the way to his lab, knowing the final battle would probably be within a day or so.


	12. Chapter 12

---X---Chapter 12

Tatsumi walked back to his room, thoughts on his mind. He was excited that Watari had come through and had made the concoctions, but he was worried that they would permanently do harm to Tsuzuki.

He made it back into his bedroom and took off his shirt, tossing it onto a chair that was near his dresser. He slid underneath his silky navy blue sheets, and closed his eyes, shutting out the thoughts as he relaxed.

He was back in the broken down warehouse, Rauksauta in front of him with blood covering his front, his fangs appearing out of his mouth. The body of the missing girl lied at his feed, dead. Her brown eyes were staring at him, glazed over, her entire neck torn out it seemed. The blood had stopped flowing, but there was still a small pool under her neck and down to the collar of her blue shirt, turning the fabric a dark mutilated purple. Tatsumi swallowed and looked back at the demon, the eyes growing a brighter red. "Tatsumi-san, what has brought you here?"

"You took another girl. She has to be no more than 17. I'm here to stop you."

Rauksauta laughed, shaking his head back and forth, his shoulder moving up and down. "My little boy, you don't know what you are dealing with, do you?"

"I know who you are. You're a demon who takes over people who have some sort of power, and then you use them to go and murder people."

"Well, you seem to know the basics. Yes, I am that, but so much more along with it. I am one of the Guardians of Hell. I deal with fire, and I am the messenger of death. Not death itself, just a messenger. I go and hunt people, to add them to the list. But, the blood is too addicting, and when I kill them, they go straight to Hell, instead of wherever they should go."

Tatsumi stared at him, unknowing of what to do. He should have called back-up, he should have, but he didn't know how to explain this to anyone. In a way, it was his fault for bringing the demon out of Hell and into the real world. Maybe that was why the demon kept on adding the "san" to his name, because he sort of respected him. "I'm going to send you back, and then you'll never be able to come back."

"Wow, you are very, _very _threatening. I want to say that your powers are much lesser than mine. Well, let's see how well you can deal with death again, okay?"

Rauksauta lifted up a hand, a swung it sideways in a slicing motion, a string of fireballs coming towards him. Tatsumi lifted up his hands to protect him, bringing up a barrier of shadows. The fire hit the barrier, the heat soaking through. Tatsumi jumped backwards, his arms feeling burned. The demon was smiling as he lifted up his arm again and started growing a large fireball in his hand. Tatsumi started running to the side, where he saw a ladder. "Don't run Tatsumi-san. You're not going to live if you do."

Tatsumi raced up the ladder, feeling the heat of the ball coming towards him. He used his shadows to protect him, but the fireball slid off of the shadows and hit the ladder steps underneath him, melting them away. He scrambled up the remainder of the steps, and went over close to the wall, in hopes the demon couldn't see him. He needed a plan, but didn't know what. All he had was his shadows, and a knife. Maybe...

"Tatsumi-san! Come face me like a man! You want to defeat me? You're not going to while hiding!"

Rauksauta wanted him to answer so he could find out where he was hiding. That was going to be a no-go. "Fine, you want to play hide-and-seek? I'm going to win. I'll just burn this entire place down, and you along with it."

Tatsumi started running as he heard bangs from behind him, putting up a barrier of shadows around him. He stopped soon though, as a like a fire started in front of him, also. Scared, he stopped and stared at the oncoming flames from both sides. He was trapped. Desperate, he ran forward and jumped over the balcony, wondering if he had officially lost his mind. The fall was going to kill him.

The ground came up, and Tatsumi altered his shadows to form something to slow him down, barely working. He slammed into the ground, the shadows wrapping around him protectively. When he woke up, all he saw was a hazy black, then noticed he was being covered up by the shadows. Pain racked his body, and he didn't think he could move. He saw that Rauksauta hadn't found him; otherwise he'd probably be dead.

Rauksauta was in front of him, probably 20 feet away, arms crossed. He was looking around, the smoke starting to make the air hazy. The smell of burning wood and metal filled the air, growing stronger with every couple of seconds. "Tatsumi-san, I guess that you're going to die here. I could come look for you, but that would be to childish. Well, I'm off to go feed on more harmless souls."

Rauksauta turned and left, Tatsumi knowing this would be his only chance to act. He managed to get up, and stumbled after Rauksauta, jumping on him and bringing him to the ground. Pain was making his mind foggy and his vision start to narrow. This was his only chance. He turned Rauksauta onto his back while pulling out his knife and saying, "To the hearts of those down below, whose rabid one has escaped, I offer him to you. Keep the chain of forever darkness and ice around his neck, and the creature he fears watching over him."

Tatsumi fed his shadows over Rauksauta, and dug his knife into the heart, the voice of Rauksauta crying out, along with another. It was the man's whose body it was originally. Tatsumi jumped off of him, realization of what he did rolling through his head. He had killed someone to kill something else. The man's voice soon singled out, and died, his eyes open and the original brown again. Tatsumi sat there, staring and finally passing out because of the smoke and pain in his mind and body.

Tatsumi jerked awake, shaking with sweat rolling down his back. He sat up, bringing his knees up and hanging his arms loosely around them. Ever since Rauksauta had come back, his nightmares have come back also. He looked and saw a stream of sun was slowly waving its way into his room. He laid there, staring at his ceiling and his mind seeing Rauksauta's eyes staring back at him.

-----------------

He could see him, see the body that was in the fetal position, the long ago shed tears still shining on his face. If only he could reach him, reach the poor fragile body that needed help. He could give him the help he wanted, that he needed, but, something was in the way. He pushed against it, hard, the barrier disappearing. He ran towards the man, but he never got closer. He was running in place, his friend disappearing. He could make it, he knew he could. As the thought was finished, his friend was right there, curled up tightly. "Tsuzuki!" he said, reaching out to touch the pained man.

"Hisoka!"

Hisoka jerked awake, his breathing fast and a headache starting. He looked around, seeing Tatsumi next to him. He laid back down, his heart slowing down some. "Tatsumi you baka! I was going to save Tsuzuki!"

"You were what?"

Hisoka realized what he said, unknowing of why he said that. "Umm, never mind. It was a dream. What do you need?"

He sat up as Tatsumi started explaining. "Last night, Watari finished his experiments that should help bring down the demon. We're going to go after him probably tonight. We're hoping. We're putting an end to these murders, if it's the last thing I do."

Hisoka nodded, agreeing, as Tatsumi asked, "So, what were you dreaming?"

"Umm, I'm not sure. I think I know how to save Tsuzuki. It's confusing. Just a dream."

Tatsumi looked at him, his features saying "Sure, keep thinking I believe you." He shook his head, a slight grin on his face. "Okay Hisoka. But as long as you know what you're doing. We can give you probably the about of time you need, but not anymore."

Hisoka nodded, asking, "Where are we going to fight him?"

"Anywhere we can. Wherever we find him. Hopefully where there are no people, which should be pretty hard to find..."

Hisoka moved to get out of his bed, Tatsumi leaving. _Soon, it's going to be soon. I can feel the demon nearby, waiting, watching..._

_-------------------_

_So this is the place where that pussy always thinks about. How is this place home? And safe? Fucking trees...Thank god the blossams are falling off._

Rauksauta walked around, hoping no one would come across his path. By now, everyone in this alternate world would know that Tsuzuki had been captured, and then would worry that any demon could get in. Only if they knew how to control a Shinigami's power to grant them access.

The branches of the Sakura's waved to him in the wind, seeming to want to get away from the darkness in him. He wandered towards the edge of the large building, measuring mentally how big he thought it was. It'd take a lot of power to bring it down. He could do it, but would definitely be drawing off of Tsuzuki's power.


	13. Chapter 13

---X---Chapter 13

Nightfall came, and Hisoka noticed the blossoms of the Sakura's falling off. Still staring out his room window, he asked, "Tatsumi, is it a bad thing if the Sakura blossoms fall off?"

The older man came next to him, a grim expression on his face. "It's said to mean danger, death, or blood, but that's just a saying. I just say they fall off when it's time for them too."

"Which means it's like death. Oh, not good," Hisoka said, turning around and slumping onto the ground. He brought his knees up and wrapped his arms around them.

"Hisoka, don't worry. Nothing is going to happen. Trust me. We can defeat the demon and save Tsuzuki."

Hisoka simply looked at the sapphire eyed man crouching next to him, his comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "I know, but unless you can see the future, you don't know what's going to happen."

Tatsumi didn't seem to have an answer for that, so he simply nodded and stood up. "I'm going to see Watari, and double check to make sure that everything is set up." He left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Hisoka felt it then—Anger, no, worse than anger—fury, hatred, revenge. He tried to stand up, to look out his window to see where it was coming from, but fell down onto his side, curling into a tight ball. The fury was cutting him open, allowing more to flow in and control his body. Pain was in every cell within him; he couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't make his voice utter even a whisper.

Darkness came across his vision, his mind fretting about where these strong emotions had come from.

---------------

Muraki stood next to Rauksauta, the demon looking hungry. "One is down. There are two more. The shadow master and the scientist. Go destroy something, and the two will come out."

The demon grinned, its sharp fangs glimmering in the moon light.

------------------

Watari heard Tatsumi enter the room, and barely glanced up from his computer. "Yes?" he asked, already knowing why he was there.

"Is everything set?" Tatsumi asked striding over, looking over his shoulder at the computer screen.

"Yes, everything is over on the table. And I can't find much more information on Rauksauta than you told me. It's making me mad."

He saw Tatsumi walk over to the table out of the corner of his eye, the man asking, "Do you know how to fix my powers?"

Watari looked at him, looking embarrassed. "Kind of. Like I told you before, the skin samples of yours didn't really have anything in them. I figure it's a poison that makes your powers disappear, and it'll wear off...or, maybe it can be flushed out..."

Watari jumped up, and went into the rows of shelves, looking around one of the end rows. "I can't believe I didn't think of this. But with so much things going on thanks to the demon, I completely forgot. Here, take this," he said, pulling down a bottle, opening it and seeing only a few pills remaining. _Damn, I'm going to need to find more._

He handed the neon orange pill to Tatsumi, who looked at it curiously before taking it. "If it's a pill, why does it taste so nasty?" He had his eyes close, looking like he was willing the taste to go away.

"I've never had to take one, so I couldn't tell you. You're going to be feeling the effects soon, so don't resist them."

By the look on Tatsumi's face soon, he was feeling them. His face became flushed, sweat starting to slowly roll down his face. He collapsed, and Watari smiled, catching him and setting him on the ground gently before going and grabbing a large glass and filling it with water. His friend would wake up in a couple of minutes or so. He was sweating the poison out of him, and if it didn't work, then he didn't know what would help his friend.

After ten minutes, Tatsumi finally opened his eyes, slowly, his clothes damp. "What'd you give to me?" he asked, looking spacey.

"It causes the poison to basically sweat out of you. And it looks like it worked. Here's a glass of water. Can you control your shadows?"

Tatsumi downed the water, and then concentrated on a spot near Watari, a black shadow rising. Soon more and more appeared, causing the brunette to smile. Watari said, "Go change, and we'll make plans for the demon. We can surprise him tonight."

---------------

Muraki looked up at Ju-Oh-Cho, basking in its brilliance. It was a large building, designed beautifully, with the Sakura trees lining the large area. The blossoms started fluttering off, landing around their feet. "How'd you get us here?" he asked, looking at Rauksauta.

"I used Tsuzuki's ability to get us here. I've been here once before, just to see what the place looked like."

"Excellent. Ready for the mass destruction?"

Rauksauta nodded, and brought his hand up in front of him, creating a large fireball in seconds. He threw it, the fireball crashing into the building and taking out a large chunk of one side. There was the sound of bricks crashing, wood snapping and fire crackling as it started burning. It filled Muraki, making him smile widely.

"Go find anyone you can and kill them," Rauksauta said, smiling. "Any that come after me—especially Tatsumi-san—are mine."

Muraki nodded, and went towards the building, hearing yells and screams, along with the smell of burning flesh.


	14. Chapter 14

---X---Chapter 14

Tatsumi heard the crash on the east side of the building, throwing on his new shirt and doing the belt for his pants, then slipping on his shoes. He didn't understand what was going on, and rushed out into the hall, feeling a wave of heat blow past him. He brought his arms in front of his face, his shadows coming up and protecting him from a fire ball. He turned away once he was sure nothing else was coming towards him, and ran down the hall, coming to the end and pushing the window open, jumping out and gliding to the ground, landing smoothly.

He looked around, seeing some people outside, wondering how many had decided to stay on Earth tonight. Usually a lot did, but if they just needed to get away, they would come up to Meifu. A group formed around the northwest end, asking what was going on. "Tatsumi!" someone called.

He turned around, seeing Watari running towards him, breathless and holding the containers, eight bunched into his arms. "Watari, what are you doing?"

"Here, take these. It's Rauksauta that's attacking. We have to get him. Wait—where's Hisoka?"

They heard laughing, and saw the demon in front of them, grinning down. Everyone became silent, staring at Rauksauta. "Run!" Tatsumi Yelled.

"Don't ruin my fun," Muraki said, appearing next to Rauksauta. No one moved, but instead stood there while Muraki walked forward, rubbing his hands together. Streaks of blue started coming out, growing larger and larger. Everyone turned offensive, attacking with their own powers. They all diminished as they hit the Doctor, who stood there smiling. "This is going to be interesting."

He stopped rubbing his hands, the blue light glowing around him, as he pointed his hands towards everyone, the light flying towards them. Everyone tried to move away, or protect themselves, but the light captured them, flashing by Tatsumi and Watari. Everyone was frozen where they were, the blue light immobilizing them. Muraki turned towards Tatsumi, smiling. "Well, I do hope you take your time, because your friends here, once they turn to solid stone, nothing can save them. And the fun part, they'll still be alive."

Tatsumi glared at him, while asking "How did you get here?" to Rauksauta.

Rauksauta smiled, his fangs showing clearly. "I brought him. I just used Tsuzuki's ability and came up here. Is something wrong with that?"

"And you better go find your friend before he dies," Muraki added. Rauksauta looked towards the second floor, made a small fireball in his hand, and threw it up at a window.

Everything burst into flame, the glass shattering and landing on the ground and in the room. That part of the building started to collapse, as Tatsumi yelled "Hisoka!" He jumped up, gliding to the room, a wave of smoke greeting him. "Hisoka!" he yelled, searching around. He coughed, the smoke scorching his lungs. He made shadows form around the fires, hoping that it would clear some of the smoke. He found Hisoka on the floor, unconscious and curled up tightly. He was limp though as Tatsumi picked him up, the boy barely breathing and freezing. Tatsumi ran out the window, gliding back to the ground with Muraki and Rauksauta smiling.

"Is the boy all right? I would dread if something happen to him," Muraki said, a fake pout on his face, while his eyes held all the sadistic pleasures of what he did to the boy.

"Hisoka, wake up! Hisoka!" Tatsumi said, setting the boy on the ground and slightly shaking him.

"It's not going to work. He's so deep in pain and fury, he doesn't even know which feelings are real, and which one's he's imagining. If you can get him to wake up, I'd be impressed," Rauksauta said.

"Hisoka, please, wake up. Hisoka! We need you. We need Tsuzuki. Only you can save Tsuzuki."

Tatsumi felt the care flow through him, and tried to put as much as he could into Hisoka or did what he felt was right. Hisoka slowly breathed in deeper, and opened his eyes, shivering. "Tsuzuki...?" he asked, eyes looking unfocused.

"Hisoka, you're going to be okay. We need your help."

He blinked, looking tired. "Ta, Tatsumi-san? You? I thought..."

"I understand. But we're going to save the real Tsuzuki now. Ready?"

Hisoka slowly sat up and nodded, glaring at Muraki and Rauksauta. "Go!" Tatsumi yelled, Watari throwing the mixes at Muraki and the demon. The freezing one hit Muraki, the fire one and what Tatsumi thought the pain one hitting Rauksauta.

The demon yelled, extinguishing the fire on himself, but yelling from the pain. "Die now bastard!" Hisoka screamed, jumping on the demon out of blind rage. Rauksauta swung his arm, a lasso of fire appearing, swinging wildly.

"You forget fire is my specialty Tatsumi-san! Now you're going to pay for your mistakes!"

"Watari!" Tatsumi screamed as he saw the lasso strike his friend. The fire cut and burned him from his left leg up until it reached the top of his head.

Watari made gasping and choking noises, falling down, his eyes and mouth open in pain and surprise. The fire that had stayed on him burned deeper, the blood turning black. The edges of the cut were black, the smell of burned flesh soon entering Tatsumi's nose and coating his tongue. Watari tired to move his arm, but the blackened pieces of skin fell off, Watari stopping his attempt and mouthing "Tatsumi."

He fell limp, his head rolling to the side, his eyes and mouth still open. Tatsumi stared at the black zigzag cut, the lab-coat dripping with blood. Tatsumi looked down at himself, and could see blood specks over him. He felt his life pause, the realization of one of his best friends lying dead in front of him taking it's time to sink in, but hitting hard.

Shadows rising around him, he stood up, one thought on his mind: _It's all up to Hisoka now. Now for me to buy more time._


	15. Chapter 15

---X---Chapter 15

Hisoka ran through the passages. He noticed they were darker than last time. He turned through the murky corners, trying to remember where Tsuzuki was exactly. In the dark corners of the mind, obviously, but he could have gotten moved. He had to hurry.

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Rauksauta dodged another shadow, breathing a little harder than he wanted to be. _The anger from the death must be flowing through Tatsumi-san strongly now. This shall be interesting when he crashes. _He jumped up, the boy who had grabbed onto him now lying on his side, his skull bleeding from where he had been thrown onto the ground. He hadn't moved, and his breathing seemed slow. Muraki seemed frozen in place, hands frozen at mid-chest in the position of they were going to cover his face. His face had a look of surprise and anger to them, his hair showing both eyes, partially. Rauksauta had wondered what made people defend their faces, out of all things. Their brain, yes, was one thing, but wasn't their heart valuable too? It was always their faces that were being covered, leaving everything else wide open.

He brushed the thought away as he threw a fireball at Tatsumi, whose shadows protected him. Another thing that bothered him. How did the shadows return? They shouldn't have, and he didn't really know of any way to get the poison out of him. But, he had been in Hell for a long time, and so things could have changed a lot.

Pulling back to reality, he saw Tatsumi's face for a second, pure fury, hatred, and vengeance in his eyes and expression. He obviously wasn't going to go down without a fight. And that was just what he wanted and was going to give to the Shinigami.

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Hisoka stopped, seeing the barrier that separated him and Tsuzuki. He came up to it, and breathed out, closing his eyes, relaxing. He felt the barrier with his mind, searching for any places that might be weak and easy to attack. He then took another breath, let it out and pushed hard with his mind, the power flowing through his arms and out against the barrier. He felt the force crack it, the cracks spreading rapidly. He pushed again, but not as strong, making the cracks more closely together, easier to break. He kicked it, the broken barrier shattering and disappearing. He ran to Tsuzuki before the demon could come, since his mind was starting to feel stretched and beat.

"Tsuzuki!" he said, grabbing the man and shaking him. "Tsuzuki! Please Tsuzuki, wake up!"

He continued to shake his friend, the skin cold under his fingers. He needed to wake up Tsuzuki before the demon could realize what happened, and come find them and kill them both with no hesitation. This was the only chance he had, and if he didn't take it...

"Tsuzuki, please, it's me Hisoka. I'm here to save you and end this nightmare. Forever. Please, wake up. I know you can hear me. I know you need someone, I can feel it...I can feel it!"

He could feel Tsuzuki's hurt, loneliness, exhaustion. He was waking up. The man slowly opened his amethyst eyes, Hisoka laughing and giving his friend a hug, never wanting to let go. "Tsuzuki! You're awake!"

"Hi...Hisoka? Is that you?" Tsuzuki whispered, afraid.

"Yes, it's me. I'm here to save you. We're killing the demon for once and for all."

Tsuzuki finally returned the hug, saying, "I never want to see evil again. I'm scared, Hisoka, I'm really scared. I want to feel wanted, loved..."

"You will Tsuzuki. Everyone loves you. Me, Watari, Tatsumi, even the chief, and everyone else we've ever met. I promise you, there's nothing about you no one would, or could, ever hate."

"Thank you," the other said, relaxing his grip and muscles.

"How lovely," someone said, the two snapping their heads up, seeing the true form of the demon leaning against an invisible wall. He pushed himself upright, walking closer, hands in fists. "So, then there were two. How touching the reunion was. So you want to be loved, Tsuzuki? How's this for lovely? Your friends you cared so much for are dead. That blonde scientist and Tatsumi-san. Dead. By my hand. You'll never see them again. And why? Cuz you're next to die."

Hisoka felt Tsuzuki stiffen under his hands, his muscles straining themselves with effort. "You lie."

"No, I don't. But I don't know of anyone else, sadly. Muraki was supposed to go and kill them, but they got away, and Muraki is 'stuck' where he is, if you want to put it that way."

Tsuzuki growled, Hisoka unknowing whether he should go to his own body, or stay here and fight. He knew if he died here, there would be no coming back for a second chance. Especially since he knew that his powers had grown strong enough for him to not have to be touching the person to feel their emotions...or in this case, be in their mind.

Tsuzuki pushed himself away from Hisoka and ran at the demon, looking as if he was going to punch him. Rauksauta moved, appearing behind Tsuzuki and pushed him, causing him to fall down. Tsuzuki twisted himself so he could land on his side rather than right on his face. Hisoka ran to the demon, anger causing him to want to do more harm, to make Rauksauta see what true suffering really is.

The demon drifted to the side like a strip of fog, Hisoka crashing into Tsuzuki, bringing them both to the ground. "Sorry," Hisoka muttered, untangling himself from Tsuzuki. "Can you use you Shikigami's?" he asked, hoping the man could.

"Inside my own mind? I don't know...maybe a form of them. This is weird..." Tsuzuki stood up, putting his hands together as if he was praying. "I pray to the twelve Gods who protect me. Show yourself before me. Come Suzaku. Suzaku is the phoenix, the firebird of death and rebirth."

A light spread around the three, flames erupting behind Tsuzuki, Suzaku appearing and crying out. "No," Rauksauta whispered, obviously knowing and fearing something about the phoenix.

"Fire!" Tsuzuki yelled, pointing towards Rauksauta.

"Boy!" Rauksauta called, pointing at Hisoka, who flew over to the demon, in front of the oncoming flame. He screamed, his flesh at first burning, then melting away in the heat, the flame claiming his body in seconds like a little child eager for Christmas.


	16. Chapter 16

Yep, before i let everyone get to the story, i'm going to announce who i greatly appreciate. Why??? Cus it's nice, and i love these people for reviewing my stories and making me happy!!!

So first, **Sueona**, because she has reviewed every chapter, and has made me happy and continue on.

Next is** thelastunicorn**, because she has pointed out a lot of my mistakes, and hopefully i have fixed them all, lol.

**Xelena** also for catching onto my plans, teehee.

And i'd also like to thank **Morality**, **Tagome Gurl**, **Tala ishtar**, **xXxSeiten-TaiseixXx**, **Kaouri18**, **chazmy**, for reading the story, and making me smile.

And anyone else who has read the story and has enjoyed!!!!!!!!!!! (or reviewed, lol)

**NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! ONWARD TO THE LAST CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**  
(_me's having with wasting space, lol)_

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---X---Chapter 16

"No!" Tsuzuki screamed, seeing Hisoka's ashes falling to the ground, any recognition at all impossible to see.

Rauksauta started to laugh, saying "You killed your last remaining friend! What are you going to do now? Cry? Run away? That's all you ever did as a child, so why change now?"

"Your ass is burned!" A wave of fire shot towards Rauksauta, Tsuzuki smiling. The demon screamed as the fire twirled around his body like a ribbon dancer, tangoing to and away from him. The demon's screams finally echoed away, his ashes in a pile. Tsuzuki released Suzaku, his mind ready to collapse with exhaustion. He left this shell of his mind and went back to the core part, taking control of his own body.

He stumbled, catching himself right before he face planted the ground. He looked around, seeing Ju-Oh-Cho on fire, Sakura blossoms littering the ground, Tatsumi's body lying nearby, his chest having three large slices across it. Blood was spattered everywhere, and he saw Watari a little further away, a long uneven black line spreading from his left leg up his body and across his face. He turned around, seeing Hisoka's body nearby, a small pool of blood around his skull, and Muraki frozen where he was, covered in a sheet of ice. In every direction he turned, he saw fellow Shinigami's lying on the ground, unconscious. Turning back to the doctor, he was unable to tell if he was alive or dead, but hoped for the latter. He went over to Hisoka, noticing cuts all over himself, his muscles sore and very, very stiff.

He turned the teen onto his back, and looked at him. He put his hands on Hisoka's temples, concentrating hard. He felt as if this was the right thing to do, but nothing happened. No spark came to be, nothing showed a sign of life. Dead in his own mind, he dimly wondered if he could do the same to the others. He moved over to the secretary sluggishly, repeating the process. The sapphire blue eyes came slowly back to life, like someone had wiped the clouds out of them, as his body healed itself. Tatsumi finally took in a deep breath, heading into coughing fits as his brain started working again. He rolled over onto his hide, then finally looked at Tsuzuki. "What, what happened? What did you do?"

"I don't know what happened. Something I did brought you back to life. I just...I don't know...did it."

The secretary nodded his head and looked over to the dead scientist. "Do you think you can save him?"

"I'll try." Tsuzuki walked over to Watari, a little more purpose in his step. He put his hands on the temples, concentrating harder. He started giving up hope after about a minute, until Watari's body started to heal itself. The uneven black dead line disappeared, the black flakes falling off. Tsuzuki smiled as the golden eyes blinked a couple of times, and happy that two of his friends were alive.

Watari went into the same coughing spell after taking in a large rattling breath. When he was done, he looked up at Tsuzuki and Tatsumi also asking, "What happened?"

"You got killed, I got killed, and Tsuzuki saved us. Easy enough," Tatsumi simply explained.

"Wait—what's wrong with Hisoka?"

Tears welled up in Tsuzuki's eyes, as he collapsed and basically crawled over to the boy. "He, he's dead," he whispered. "I killed him."

The two stared at him, unknowing of what to say. "Surely, _you _didn't kill him by choice, correct? The demon did it?" Watari asked.

"The demon pulled him in front of my attack. I burned him alive."

Tatsumi and Watari looked at each other, both unknowing of what would happen. Tsuzuki tried to put life into the boy's body, but the dull realization came over him that he had killed Hisoka's mind. As much life that he put into the boy wouldn't bring him back. He collapsed onto Hisoka, crying, knowing his partner, his friend, the one he could openly talk to, was gone. Dead. He spirit would never come back, and it was his entire fault.

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It took four months rebuild Ju-Oh-Cho back to perfection, everyone working hard. The death toll returned to its original percentage, and sometimes even lower. Tsuzuki quit his work, staying locked up in his apartment, not sleeping much as his emotions continued building on top of each other. He became addicted to Saki, as it took his mind away from everything, including the memory of Meifu. What had happened to Muraki, though, he was unsure. The doctor had probably gotten killed, or had died in his ice capsule. Either way was perfectly fine by him.

At night, though, with as much drinking as he did, he couldn't get Hisoka's screams out of his ears and the vision of the boy burning alive out of his mind's eye. It was as if the memory had been glued to the main part of his head, always telling him to not forget.

Tatsumi, Watari, or even the Goushoshin twins hadn't stopped by that he knew of, or hadn't even bothered to check on him. Not that he cared. _I should go straight to Hell,_ he thought, wondering if he could do that. _I deserve it, for everything I've ever done. _He made plans to go to Meifu the next day, to see if he could die properly and not have to worry about anything again.

"Oh my Tsuzuki, look at what _you _have done to yourself," a sadistic, haunting voice whispered in his ear. "I see you have your watch on your right hand. Is it because you are left handed? Or is it to hide the scars?"

He drank more Saki that night, more than he ever had before, close to killing himself if he had opened another bottle. He passed out, not waking up for over a day. When he did wake up, it was to someone pushing him, causing his head to spin and burn. He didn't open his eyes in the sunlight, and asked a course, "What?"

"Tsuzuki, you baka. Only you could, or would, drink this much Saki in one night. You're one of the drunks now."

He opened his eyes, vision blurry at first to where he could barely see the outline of the things in front of him. It got better once he saw the shape of Hisoka, smiling that smartass grin, a hint of disappointment on his face and especially in the green lily-padded eyes. "Hisoka?" he croaked out, confused.

"Yes it's me, and you're more of a drunken baka than I thought."

"But...you died. I killed you. There's no other way to put it. I saw it...I did it..."

Hisoka sat down next to Tsuzuki, who slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I did die. My mind was burned to a crisp, but I don't remember too much, thankfully. I was supposed to just die and never come back but, I got asked, would I be willing to come back as a Shinigami again? I answered yes, and basically got reborn again. I've been living and healing at Meifu, while the construction was going on. I was in a coma basically, but I was aware of things around me. It was weird. So I woke up, and of course you weren't there. That didn't surprise me to much. For some reason, no one knew where you had gone to, so I had to come search you out. Kind of annoying. So I asked the liquor store owner if he had seen you, and he answered yes, almost every night. Easy enough, so I followed you home the other night.

"And I didn't think it was possible to drink that much Saki. You surprise me, Tsuzuki-san."

Tsuzuki smiled, painfully, but felt better nonetheless. "I'm glad you're alive," he said, feeling more whole that he had in the last five months.

"Good. Now, go take a shower. You smell like alcohol, and the Chief doesn't need to see you like this."

Tsuzuki nodded, stumbling up, his hangover slowly disappearing as he turned on the warm water and stepped under it, the refreshment washing everything away. He got out once he felt clean, got dressed reasonably for once, and left with Hisoka. He smiled as he saw the Sakura blossoms on the trees, seeming brighter and had a more dazzling smell than he last remembered. But, that was okay. With Hisoka by his side, he saw the brighter side of life a lot more clearly, and that was the only thing he wanted. "Muraki's dead, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Now I can sleep at night more peacefully." Hisoka laughed, agreeing.

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Wow, it's finally done...hope everyone enjoyed!!!


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